BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          SB 1259 (Pavley) - Dams: sedimentation studies.
          
          Amended: May 5, 2014            Policy Vote: NR&W 9-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: May 12, 2014      Consultant: Marie Liu
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: SB 1259 would require the Department of Water  
          Resources (DWR) to conduct a study regarding the loss of storage  
          capacity behind dams resulting from siltation by January 1, 2017  
          and would require that the results be included in the California  
          Water Plan.

          Fiscal Impact: 
              One-time costs of approximately $30 million from the  
              General Fund to DWR to conduct sedimentation studies of the  
              reservoirs in the state.

          Background: Existing law charges DWR with supervising the  
          construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, maintenance,  
          operation, and removal of dams and reservoirs for the protection  
          of life and property. Under this authority, DWR has sediment  
          removal projects for five dams. While it is recognized that  
          sedimentation can significant reduce dam capacity, there is no  
          robust information on statewide impact of sedimentation on  
          statewide water supplies. 

          The California Water Plan is the state's master plan which  
          guides the orderly and coordinated development, management, and  
          efficient utilization of the water resources of the state. DWR  
          is required to update the Water Plan every five years.

          Proposed Law: This bill would require DWR to investigate the  
          loss of storage capacity behind dams resulting from  
          sedimentation. The study may be based on data from dam operators  
          and other sources, modeling, and evaluation of sediment for  
          mercury and sediment grain size. The study would be required to  
          include evaluation of cost-effective strategies for sediment  
          removal.









          SB 1259 (Pavley)
          Page 1


          The initial study would be required to be completed by January  
          1, 2017. Results from these studies would be required to be  
          included in the California Water Plan and transmitted to the  
          Legislature.

          Staff Comments: DWR estimates that conducting the study required  
          by the bill would cost at least $30 million assuming that only a  
          fourth of the 1250 state-regulated dams would need to be  
          evaluated for the purpose of this study and that evaluation at  
          each dam would cost $100,000 per dam. Staff notes that this cost  
          estimate is for a one-time study. 

          Staff notes that the bill is unclear how much flexibility DWR  
          has in focusing the study on high priority dams, with priority  
          being determined by dam purpose, capacity, state-wide or  
          regional significance, or other factor and excluding  
          low-priority dams. The bill also does not speak to the level of  
          accuracy necessary for the study. As noted in the Senate Natural  
          Resources and Water analysis, there has been one published study  
          estimating sedimentation rates in California at large spatial  
          and temporal scales based on modeling. Presumably the cost of  
          this study was not in the millions of dollars, but the study's  
          level of accuracy is less than what the author intends.